Tales of Vesperia: Royal Engagement
by heroes1202
Summary: Set after the game's ending, peace between the empire and guilds is falling. All hope to protect the peace lies with the proposed marriage of Yuri and Estelle. As old faces gather for the wedding, what emotions stir within Yuri and Estelle's hearts?
1. Ch 1: Proposal of Unity

**_Tales of Vesperia: Royal Engagement_**

**__****_Chapter 1: Proposal of Unity_**  


In the capital of the Illycian continent, Zaphias, all is peaceful and bright since Yuri Lowell left the capital with Estelle and his friends to save the world from the dangers of the Adephagos. The sky over the large city was bright blue as clouds slowly drifted through the sky. Estelle was seen on a nearby balcony of the castle, sipping tea as she read a book on the table.

"I'm glad I finally got to read this again. I almost finished it before I met Yuri." Estelle thought. As she continued to read, a strange humming like sound could be heard in the far distance, approaching the capital.

"Hmm? Hey. Does anyone hear something?" a man in the lower quarter asked. Soon, the inhabitants of the lower quarter were abuzz with concern as they heard the same strange sound. Nearby the lower quarter's aqua blastia, Hanks looked to the sky.

"That sound...could it be...?" Hanks thought. He suddenly noticed someone flying through the skies above the capital. It appeared to be a young teenage girl with a strange device strapped to her back, goggles over her eyes and a crash helmet strapped to her head. Hanks chuckled, recognizing her as Rita Mordio.

"If it ain't Miss Mordio. Wonder what she's doing here?" Hanks thought, giving a smirk as Rita continued to fly through the sky. Rita had both hands firmly grasped to two handles extending from the device on her back, her personal flying machine. It was a large fan with the propellors spinning at intense speeds, keeping Rita airborne.

"Now then...Estelle should be..." Rita thought. She looked around the ground below her, searching for signs of the castle. She then noticed Estelle out on the balcony and grinned.

"Ah! There she is!" Rita thought. She turned her body towards the castle and aimed for the balcony. Estelle heard the machine whirring and looked up. Rita laughed and waved to her still in midair. Estelle laughed and waved to her.

"Rita! It's you!" Estelle cried. As Rita continued to wave, she remained unaware that her flying device was starting to crap out behind her, spurting and ready to break down. Rita gasped once she noticed.

"Oh man! Not now! Not now!" Rita thought. Estelle soon stopped waving as Rita was swinging her arms frantically, causing Estelle to gasp.

"Estelle! Look out! Move out of the way! I'm coming in too fast!" Rita exclaimed. Estelle screamed and hurried aside.

"Mayday! Mayday!" Rita exclaimed. With her eyes covered by her hands, Estelle heard Rita crashing hard into the balcony. Her device was smashed to pieces, flying all around the area. When Estelle peeked again, she found Rita upside down against the nearby wall with her device still spurting. The table and chair that Estelle sat in nearby had been flipped by Rita's impact.

"Oh my gosh! Rita! Are you all right?" Estelle exclaimed. Rita nervously chuckled.

"Sorry Estelle. Guess I haven't FULLY got the kinks out of this crappy flying machine yet." Rita said. She quickly flipped herself over and unfastened herself from her device. But soon after, Estelle rushed over and hugged her tightly.

"Oh Rita! I'm glad you came to visit!" Estelle exclaimed. Rita began to blush, feeling Estelle pressing up against her. She started stuttering as she pushed herself free from Estelle.

"Uhh...duhh...y...yeah! Nice to...see you too!" Rita stammered. Estelle giggled.

"H...Here Estelle. Lemme just...help clean this mess up." Rita stuttered.

**_~ Tales of Vesperia ~_**

After helping Estelle clean up the overturned furniture, Rita joined Estelle at the table for a cup of tea. She set her destroyed invention by her chair.

"Thank you for visiting today Rita. I was afraid you weren't going to." Estelle said, pouring Rita's tea. Rita blushed a bit.

"Yeah. Well, repairs in Aspio are kind of still underway. I've been working on my own stuff as well as helping repair Aspio. Hmph. To think the city suffered that much damage when Tarqaron ripped it out of the ground." Rita said, glancing off. Estelle sighed lightly.

"At least you were not in it when it happened and everyone did get out safely. If you wanted our help, you could've submitted a request to the council about sending more support to help rebuild Aspio." Estelle said. Rita huffed.

"Believe me. I've tried that." Rita said. She glanced at her tea cup before taking a light sip, lightly sighing afterwards.

"Hmm? What?" Estelle asked.

"Your tea is delicious Estelle. It's so refreshing. I always like this when I come to visit." Rita said. Both girls started to lightly chuckle. Down below, in the city streets, another familiar face was seen strolling in from the lower quarter entrance. As he carried a sword at his side, a blue furred dog remained along his side. Behind was a young boy with spiky brown hair, a middle aged man wearing a large purple coat and spiky hair and a girl with two long antenna from her head. The townsfolk in the lower quarter knew him right away.

"H...Hey! It's Yuri! Yuri came back!" a boy cried. Sure enough, the new face entering the town was Yuri Lowell, joined by his faithful dog Repede and his guildmates Karol, Raven and Judith. Yuri smirked as he looked around.

"Hmph. Looks like the lower quarter's been doing just fine." Yuri said.

"Yeah. Considering the fact that every town on the whole planet doesn't have barrier blastia anymore, I say the capital seems to be doing just fine." Raven added. Judith chuckled.

"You always act like this whenever we come to visit. You really miss your home, don't you Yuri?" Judith asked. Yuri glanced back at Judith with a smug grin.

"This coming from the girl who previously kept her whole life secret from us." Yuri said. Karol chuckled.

"Who cares? We came to visit Estelle, right? So...let's save all this "homesick" stuff for later. I bet Estelle will be surprised to see us." Karol said. Yuri smirked as Repede barked.

"Okay. Okay. Let's go pay our princess a visit." Yuri said. The group continued on through the city, waved to and greeted by everyone in the lower quarter. But as Yuri left the lower quarter and went up higher, he found three "unfriendly" faces waiting. It was LeBlanc with Adecor and Boccos at his side.

"Well, well...so we meet again Yuri Lowell." LeBlanc said. Yuri sighed.

"I had a feeling I would be seeing you again captain. That goes for you too Tweedle A and Tweedle B." Yuri said. Adecor and Boccos groaned.

"I say, that gets rather tiresome after so many times Yuri." Adecor said.

"Can't you come up with any better names for us than that?" Boccos asked. Yuri smirked, glanced upon by Raven and Judith.

"I would...but that would be rather insulting to your images as knights. So...I'll stick with the nicknames I gave ya already." Yuri said "Now if you'll excuse us, we came to visit Estelle." Adecor and Boccos laughed.

"Not this time I'm afraid Yuri Lowell! This time...you will FINALLY be put on trial for all the uncouth actions you have done in the past. This is where you finally lose!" Boccos cried.

"I say, we have you now!" Adecor exclaimed. Suddenly, Raven stepped forward, facing the Schwann Brigade.

"Men! Ten hut!" Raven shouted. The knights gasped, quickly standing upright and saluting with their eyes close. Raven glanced back at the others and winked. As LeBlanc and men stood proudly, thinking Raven was still there, the group quietly sneaked past while stopping to make teasing faces at them. By the time LeBlanc noticed something was up, Yuri's group was gone.

"Wh...What? C...Captain Schwann? Yuri? D...Damn! NOT AGAIN!" LeBlanc exclaimed.

**_~ Tales of Vesperia ~_**

Inside the castle, Estelle and Rita were still on the balcony talking between one another when a knock came at Estelle's door.

"Hmm? Come in!" Estelle called. The door opened and Yuri entered along with the others.

"Hey Estelle, what's up?" Yuri asked.

"Yuri! Oh! And Karol too! It's so great to see you all again!" Estelle cried with cheer. Raven smirked.

"Aww shucks. Glad to see you yourself princess. How about a hug for ol' Raven?" Raven asked, opening his arms. But without a sound, Rita got up and approached Raven. She then punched him smack on the nose. Raven yelped and covered his face with his hands.

"OW! Hey! What was that for?" Raven asked.

"Hmph. Still the same perverted old fart from before. You'll never change old man." Rita said. Raven huffed.

"Y...Yeah. Hmph. Nice to see you too little missy." Raven said, rubbing his nose. Rita glanced around at everyone.

"Hey wait. Where's Patty? Didn't she come with you guys?" Rita asked.

"Oh. Patty? She said she had some stuff to do at Torim Harbor and might not be joining us for this little visit of ours." Yuri said. Estelle smiled, saddened a bit to hear that. Just then, another knock came at the door. This time, it was Flynn Scifo with Ioder behind him.

"Excuse us...Lady Estellise. May we...? Huh? Yuri?" Flynn asked. Yuri smirked.

"Hello to you too Flynn. Nice to knock when the door is still wide open." Yuri said. Ioder smiled at the sight of everyone.

"Oh. This is good. You came after all Mister Lowell." Ioder said. Yuri looked on with intrigue as Flynn and Ioder entered, closing the door behind them. As Yuri took a seat nearby, Ioder and Flynn stood out on the balcony with Estelle.

"Flynn? What's going on?" Estelle asked.

"Yeah. Your entrance seemed rather timed." Yuri said. Flynn paused for a moment to clear his throat.

"Well, actually, there's something we wanted to talk to you about Lady Estellise. I don't know if any of you are aware of this...but it seems things between the empire and the guilds is starting to take a turn for the worst." Flynn said. This caught Raven's attention very fast.

"I heard something like that too. Supposedly, those who can't really stand the idea of the empire and the guilds being all "friendly" with one another are turning their backs from helping the empire, that right?" Raven asked. Ioder nodded.

"Yes. Because of this, we're afraid that our peace treaty between us will surely break and war will start again. We're losing more and more support from the people of Dahngrest with every passing second." Ioder said. Yuri glanced on.

"So...what does that have to do with us?" Yuri asked. Suddenly, Flynn began to blush, making Yuri feel highly uncomfortable for what was coming next. Everyone looked on with anticipation as Ioder prepared to speak.

"Master Ioder believes he may have come up with an idea about how we can avoid an outbreak between the capital and Dahngrest...and it involves you, Yuri." Flynn said, still blushing under his eyes. Yuri suddenly sat up.

"Well? What is it? Don't keep us in the dark Flynn. Somebody tell us." Yuri said.

"Well, the idea is that if we can bring together two people, one from each side, the guilds and the empire, then perhaps their unity will send a message to the people of Dahngrest that we in the empire truly wish to seek peace with them." Ioder said. Everyone continued to watch as Ioder adjusted his jacket collar.

"We...We propose a marriage...between Princess Estellise Sidos Heurassein and...Yuri Lowell, hero of Terca Lumireis and member of Brave Vesperia." Ioder said. The impact of the news shocked everyone, including Repede. It hit Yuri so hard that he practically fell out of his chair at the sound of it. Rita was left with her mouth gaping open.

"Wh...WHAT? MARRIAGE? Between Estelle and...HIM?" Rita screamed, pointing angrily at Yuri. Karol's eyes almost seemed to pop from his head.

"You...You've gotta be kidding!" Karol exclaimed.

"Yeah! If anyone ought to be marrying a cutie pie like Estelle, it ought to be...DOW!" Raven cried, kicked hard in the gut by Rita. Judith looked away with her face bright red.

"Wh...What kind of crap is this? You can't be serious!" Yuri exclaimed. Flynn groaned, looking away to hide his embarrassment.

"Sorry Yuri. But this was all the council could decide on. Besides, you and Lady Estellise have been together so long that it would seem fitting for you two to ever be wed. You're very close friends, are you not?" Ioder said. Yuri and Estelle suddenly turned to each other, blushing brightly as their shaky eyes looked on at the other.

"The two of us...married?" Yuri and Estelle muttered. Everyone else watched Yuri and Estelle, still blown away by the sudden proposal and waiting to see what they would say.

**__****__****__****____********__****__****__****__****_TO BE CONTINUED..._**


	2. Ch 2: Stirring Emotions

**__****_Tales of Vesperia: Royal Engagement_**

**__****__****_Chapter 2: Stirring Emotions_**

After hearing the news given to them by Ioder and Flynn, Yuri and Estelle remained alone together on the balcony outside Estelle's room. Everyone else had went off for their own accord to give the two some time to think it over. The only one who stayed behind was Repede, laying down by Estelle's bed side.

"Still can't get over the idea Estelle?" Yuri asked. Estelle sighed.

"No. It's very hard to take lightly. I mean...the peace between the empire and guilds...falls to us...our wedding." Estelle said. Yuri nodded, looking out at the clear blue sky.

"Heh. That Flynn. I bet he never expected this coming, did he?" Yuri thought. He suddenly noticed Estelle taking a seat nearby.

"So...what do you think we should do Estelle? I mean...you're a princess. And me, heh, I'm just a regular guy who used to live in the lower quarter. Wonder what gave those weirdos on the council the idea that us marrying would be the only way to save the peace between empire and guilds." Yuri said. Estelle glanced on at Yuri as he took the other chair nearby.

"Well, I...I wouldn't say that it is not ENTIRELY a bad idea. But still...to bring it up like that...so...so suddenly." Estelle said. Yuri looked on at Estelle, suddenly noticing her hands on the table. They were quivering frantically as their grip to one another tightened.

"Estelle..." Yuri muttered. Estelle then started to leak small tears from her eyes. Before Yuri could notice, she started wiping the tears from her eyes. Repede glanced on at Estelle quietly.

"Well, like Flynn said, we don't have to give him an answer right away. He said we could tell him tomorrow what we felt of this whole ordeal. Okay?" Yuri asked. Estelle nodded as Yuri stood up, picking up his sword as well.

"Okay then. I'm gonna go round up the others and tell them what's going on. Okay?" Yuri asked. Estelle nodded again, watching him walking out with Repede soon joining him. As soon as the door closed, Estelle started breaking out in tears.

"Yuri...how...how could I say no?" Estelle sniffled. Soon, memories of their adventure together started to flood Estelle's mind. She remembered all the times she would worry or fret over Yuri's safety and how friendly and kind he was to her. Her hands began quivering again.

"What would you say...Yuri?" Estelle thought, continuing to shed tears.

**_~ Tales of Vesperia ~_**

Back out in the city streets, Yuri and Repede found Karol and Raven sitting on a bench inbetween the two quarters. People passed by without much contact as chatter filled the air. Karol quickly glanced over once he heard Yuri coming.

"Oh. Yuri, there you are." Karol said. Raven glanced at Yuri as Karol got up and walked towards him. He stopped a few inches from Yuri and looked up at him.

"Hmm? What's going on Captain Karol? Don't tell me I kept you waiting for very long." Yuri said. Karol lightly shook his head.

"No. It's not that. We were just wondering...what life would be like if you and Estelle really got married." Karol said. Yuri continued glancing on at Karol, asking exactly what he meant.

"Well, hmm...I guess I'm talking about our guild." Karol said "What do you think would happen to Brave Vesperia if we didn't have you around?" Raven smirked.

"Yeah mister lucky. I highly doubt the council would vote in favor of having you and the misses coming to Dahngrest with us after your little matrimony." Raven said. Yuri sighed.

"Oh. That." Yuri said. Repede glanced up at his master curiously. He then gave a bark, catching Yuri's attention.

"Don't worry Repede. If Estelle and I DO get married, and I'm not saying we ARE yet, I wouldn't forget you pal." Yuri said, patting Repede's head. Yuri then glanced over at Raven and Karol.

"What? Judy's got nothing to say about this? Where is she?" Yuri asked.

"Huh? Oh. Judith went back to check on Ba'ul. But believe me...was her face red when we all left." Karol said. Raven winked with a grin.

"Yeah. Guess old Judy had quite a "thing" for ya Yuri. But don't worry. I'll bet the gal just needs some time to cool off. Besides, with you and Estelle, that leaves her open for another lucky candidate...ME!" Raven laughed. Yuri sighed.

"Really old man? Sure your "mysterious charms" won't scare her off?" Yuri asked. Raven huffed, quickly turning his smile to a frown.

"You don't have to be MEAN to an old man like me, do ya?" Raven asked. Yuri and Karol both chuckled, making Raven turn with a huff. But before long, Yuri felt a swat at his head from behind.

"Dow! Hey! Wh...What...?" Yuri exclaimed, turning to find Rita holding her spell book.

"Oh. Rita, it's you. I THOUGHT that blow to the head felt familiar." Yuri said. Suddenly, Rita's hand began twitching as she grabbed Yuri by his coat and pulled him close.

"Whoa! Whoa! Easy there tiger! What's wrong?" Yuri asked. He looked on at Rita's eyes, seeing her angriest scowl yet.

"Listen to me very closely. If you...even THINK...of making Estelle cry...because of this, I will NEVER forgive you. You'll be cursed forever more with the worst possible life imaginable! I'll personally make sure you are sent to the gates of Hades when I'm through with you!" Rita exclaimed, growing louder with every sentence. She then shoved Yuri away and turned her back to him, crossing her arms. Karol chuckled.

"I guess that was Rita's way of saying not to blow things with Estelle Yuri." Karol said. But suddenly, Rita struck Karol bluntly in the head with her book.

"Hey! I don't need YOU translating what I say. I'm sure he got the message on the first try." Rita said. Karol groaned, rubbing the bump on his head. Yuri smirked.

"Yeah. Yeah. Don't worry. If there's one thing I know I'm not gonna do, it's make Estelle upset." Yuri said. Rita glared over her shoulder at him before turning away again.

"Yeah. That's right. You BETTER not." Rita said. The others looked on as Yuri was heading back down towards the lower quarter.

"Huh? Hey Yuri. Where ya going?" Karol asked.

"Me? I'm just wanna think about something for a bit. Maybe catch a quick snooze or something." Yuri said. Raven continued watching as Yuri walked off, leaving Karol and Rita behind. Raven could easily understand what Yuri meant.

"Go ahead kid. I can tell this is going to take a while." Raven muttered.

**_~ Tales of Vesperia ~_**

A while later in the lower quarter, Yuri was back in his old room with Repede patiently nearby. Yuri had stopped to think about how his actions led to so many things and how it may someday come back to affect his life with Estelle should they be married. But the longer he thought about it, the more he felt that a nap would do him good. But inside his dream was no better. Inside his dream, he stood alone in a darkened field with flames engulfing him.

"Huh? Hey...what the?" Yuri asked. Suddenly, many voices were heard laughing at Yuri. He turned towards the sound but saw nothing but pitch black darkness beyond the fire. Suddenly, he saw faint ghostly images of Barbos and Ragou.

_Heh heh. What's the matter kid? Don't ya know where you are? You finally made it. Welcome to hell Yuri Lowell._

_Indeed. Now then...since you were the one who sent all of us to this place, this is where we shall take our vengeance on you for what you did to us!  
_

Yuri groaned, preparing to draw his sword. But he soon realized his sword was nowhere around. Barbos and Ragou laughed wickedly as, soon after, Cumore's ghostly image appeared.

_Come now Yuri. Don't you realize? In this place, only the most heartless survive. And we should know...how much of a beast you truly are!_

"St...Stay back! I'm not like you! You're all just idiots who could never learn what right and wrong mean!" Yuri exclaimed. But they only continued to laugh as they approached Yuri. He groaned and started backing away.

"If you think...I'm afraid of you, you're WAY wrong. Got me? I know this isn't real." Yuri said. Suddenly, he heard a scream and turned around, seeing an invisible force holding Estelle by the throat.

"Estelle! No!" Yuri exclaimed. Another voice soon started laughing, one too familiar to Yuri. In an instant, the ghost of Zagi appeared, clutching one hand on Estelle's throat. He wore his mechanical arm on his right side, bearing the same facial features as to when Yuri finished him on the Tarqaron.

_Dah ha ha ha ha! Well, well Yuri! Looks like you brought somebody along for the ride as well! Good! Too bad that means SHE gets to suffer this eternity along with you! This is gonna be FUN!_

Yuri gasped as he saw Estelle reaching out for him.

"Y...Yuri! Help!" Estelle cried. Yuri hurried to grab Estelle's hand, but he missed and started falling down into the darkness. Everyone above continued to laugh, watching as Yuri fell.

"No! Estelle! ESTELLE!" Yuri exclaimed. As he felt nothing but darkness surrounding him, he quickly was awoken from his nightmare, sweat racing down his face.

"Estelle!" Yuri cried. Shortly after awakening, he quickly looked around him.

"Wait. This is...my room..." he muttered. Repede soon barked, catching Yuri's attention.

"Phew. It's...It's okay Repede. Just a nightmare...that's all." Yuri said, rubbing the dog's head. Just then, there was a knock at the door. Yuri took a glance as he saw Raven entering.

"Hey there kid. Just came to see how ya were doing." Raven said. Yuri sighed, sitting upright in bed and wiping the sweat from his face.

"W...What do you want old man?" Yuri asked. Raven smirked.

"Listen Yuri. Earlier before, I had a pretty good idea what you were thinking about before ya came down here. You were thinking that if ya really go through with this...this wedding with the princess, you don't wanna end up dragging her down to hell like all of your enemies claim you're gonna wind up someday." Raven said. Yuri huffed.

"Guess you're smarter than I thought." Yuri said. Raven chuckled, patting Yuri's shoulder.

"Heh. Believe me. I can tell when someone is having a hard time dealing with their past. But...if I can tell one thing for sure, if ya got a nice gal like Estelle watching out for ya and caring for you, along with us I'll remind ya, there's no way you'll wind up in hell like Barbos or Zagi." Raven said. Yuri fell silent afterwards, glaring on at Raven.

"Trust me. You're gonna be just fine. You'll be together...in peace." Raven said. Repede glanced up at Yuri, who sighed shortly after.

"Thanks Raven. Somehow, you know when to perk somebody up." Yuri said. Raven smirked, saying he'd let Yuri be now and walked off. Yuri and Repede then turned to one another.

"If Raven is sure of it...then there's only one thing to say to Estelle. You ready pal?" Yuri asked. Repede barked. Yuri smirked and was soon out the door with Repede. He strolled up towards the royal quarter, stopped inbetween when he found Estelle standing by herself, looking up at the stars in the sky.

"Estelle?" Yuri asked.

"Oh. Yuri." Estelle replied. Yuri slowly walked over to Estelle's side, glancing up at the sky. They both could see it, Brave Vesperia was shining brightly in the sky. Repede merely ruffed and sat at Yuri's side.

"Look. Isn't that the star you named our guild after?" Yuri asked. Estelle nodded.

"It's so beautiful tonight. I thought I'd just come out and look at the sky...clear my mind a bit." Estelle said. Yuri nodded, quietly glancing at Estelle without her notice. When Estelle noticed, Yuri was already looking on at her.

"Estelle? About what we talked about earlier..." Yuri muttered. Suddenly, Estelle slipped her arm around his.

"Y...Yuri? I...I...I don't know how to word this, but...I..." Estelle muttered. Yuri slowly turned towards her until they both faced each other. He lightly took her hand.

"It's okay. I think I know what you want to say. And...I do too." Yuri said. Estelle lightly gasped.

"Do? Do what?" Estelle asked "I didn't even say anything." Yuri smirked.

"I'm talking about what you were gonna say." Yuri said. Suddenly, he slowly dropped to one knee, still holding Estelle's hand gently. Estelle began to blush, watching as Yuri looked up at her.

"Princess Estellise...will you marry me?" Yuri asked. Estelle lightly gasped, turning bright red as tears welled up in her eyes. She quickly dropped to her knees and hugged Yuri tightly. He smirked and hugged her back, hearing her lightly sniffling.

"Yuri! Th...Thank you!" Estelle cried. As Yuri comforted her, they were watched from afar by Rita and the others. Karol couldn't help but cry, as did Rita. But when Karol noticed, Rita groaned and struck him down with a blow to the head. Raven smirked as he and Judith looked on at Yuri and Estelle. Repede was the only one to notice the others watching.

**__****__****__****____********__****__****__****__****_TO BE CONTINUED..._**


	3. Ch 3: Setting the Stage

**__****_Tales of Vesperia: Royal Engagement_**  


**__****__****_Chapter 3: Setting the Stage_**

Flynn was told the following morning of Yuri and Estelle's decision about the proposed marriage brought up by Ioder. He was completely shocked to hear that Yuri would really go through with it. They met in Estelle's room the following morning.

"Y...You're SURE about this now Yuri?" Flynn asked. Yuri sighed.

"How many times am I gonna have to say it? YES I'm sure." Yuri said. Flynn looked to Estelle and started to blush bright red, thinking of her as Yuri's wife. Estelle quickly noticed Flynn's face.

"Flynn? Are you okay?" Estelle asked. Flynn gasped, starting to stutter and turn away.

"Wh...What? N...N...No! I'm fine Lady Estellise. I...uhh...ahem. I just have something in my eye." Flynn said. Yuri sighed, shaking his head at the sight of Flynn.

"SURE Flynn. You never were good at fooling people." Yuri said. Flynn groaned.

"Sorry Yuri. I guess...I guess I'm not used to the fact that you two decided to go through with this. It's kind of a lot to take in." Flynn said. Estelle smiled, lightly reaching for Yuri's hand.

"To be honest, I had a bit of trouble saying it to Yuri. After he left, I thought about everything the two of us have been through together since we left the capital the first time. And...the more I thought about then...the more I realized that Yuri was someone I could always depend on and turn to when I lost my way." Estelle said. Yuri smirked, blushing lightly himself.

"Estelle..." he muttered.

"Yuri had opened my eyes to all sorts of wonders that I never would have seen if I hadn't left the castle. And even in times of which I was afraid or too nervous to go on, he always encouraged me to follow my heart. That's why..." Estelle said. She was stopped when Yuri slipped out and placed his hand on top of hers.

"Hmph. Lemme just cut in by saying that it was an honor traveling with someone like Estelle. Sure, I'll admit that she was a bit of a pain in the start and I wasn't making things easy for her...no offense." Yuri said. Estelle shook her head, saying she didn't mind. Yuri smirked and continued on.

"If I didn't have Estelle with me when we faced those difficult times on our travels, I don't know where I would be now. She always was so cheerful, never once wanting to show a frown even when things were tough." Yuri continued. Estelle started to blush.

"Yuri..." she muttered.

"So yeah. Even if things don't work out with Brave Vesperia right away, if Ioder says that us marrying could show the guilds and the empire how to get along...then I'll do it." Yuri said, turning back to Flynn. Estelle turned towards Flynn, giving a nod.

"As would I." Estelle said "Without each other, we wouldn't have become the people we are now." Flynn smiled.

"All right then. I guess that's good enough for me. I'll make sure to tell Master Ioder as soon as I meet with him later today." Flynn said. Estelle giggled, deciding to hurry off and tell Rita. But just as Estelle left and Yuri began to follow, he felt Flynn's hand on his shoulder. He looked back to see Flynn's smiling face.

"Yuri? I'm proud of you. You truly made me realize that you and Lady Estellise are perfect for one another. Thanks for making her happy." Flynn said. Yuri smirked, turning to Flynn and the two high fived.

"No problem. I just have one request. Since this is going to be a wedding, you ARE gonna be my best man. Right?" Yuri asked. Flynn lightly gasped, but quickly regained his smile.

"Sure pal." Flynn said.

**_~ Tales of Vesperia ~_**

With word of the wedding soon reaching the pleasing ears of Ioder, the process to begin preparations was soon underway. One of the first tasks was delivering invites to the people of Dahngrest, Zaphias and any friends of Brave Vesperia. Yuri's friends decided to take that assignment and soon left with Ba'ul. Repede stayed behind to pass out invites to the citizens of Zaphias.

"All right. So we've got some invites to hand out, right? Where should we start?" Judith asked. Raven smirked, rubbing his chin.

"I've got a pretty good idea of as to who give them out too. And I think I know where to find the right folk. Drop me off around Dahngrest and I'll be quick." Raven said. Ba'ul gave a loud cry as he flew through the skies over the world and arrived in Dahngrest within the hour. Raven quickly departed and found Gauche and Droite at a table in the Sagittarius Tavern. He quietly slipped the invite in front of Gauche, disguised under a dark robe. But Gauche recognized him right away, stopping Raven with but a glance.

"What's going on? What's this?" Gauche asked, holding the invite. Raven smirked.

"Just consider it...a "gift" from us folks at Brave Vesperia. I'm sure Yeager would like to have come." Raven muttered, walking off soon after. Gauche looked at the royal seal on the front and showed it to Droite. Raven hung around, watching until he was sure that the two girls would attend. As he rejoined the others, Karol had went out to give an invite to Harry, Don Whitehorse's grandson.

"Thank you Karol. I'll see to it that I come. I'm sure my grandfather wouldn't want to have missed this." Harry said. Karol thanked Harry and was soon off to join Raven and the others. Their next stop was at Myorzo, with Judith sending invites to her fellow Krityan and to the Elder.

"Hmm. Thank you Judith. I would be honored to come. Your friends are truly some remarkable humans." the Elder said. Judith smiled.

"Thank you elder. I hope you do come. It will be so much fun." Judith said. Back at Zaphias, Repede was quick to dart down to the lower quarter, arriving at the local tavern and finding Hanks.

"Hmm? Repede? I haven't seen you in a while. What is it boy?" Hanks asked. Repede gave Hanks his invite, handed to the old man with help from his mouth.

"Ho ho ho! So Yuri and that young lady are getting married eh? Well, tell Yuri that his friends down here can't wait." Hanks said. Repede barked, soon darting off with his next invite in paw. Repede also mananged to track down LeBlanc, currently patroling Zaphias' royal quarter.

"Thank you...ehh...doggie." LeBlanc said. As Repede darted off again, LeBlanc groaned and dropped to his knees.

"To think...Yuri Lowell...is marrying Lady Estellise. Oh! I was SO close to catching that troublemaker too!" LeBlanc yelled, pounding the ground in frustration. Meanwhile, Ba'ul had brought the others to Nordopolica, giving an invite to Natz at the gate entrance. As Raven delivered that invite, Karol had found Nan, Tison and Clint about to leave Nordopolica.

"Karol?" Nan asked. Karol chuckled.

"I didn't think I would find you guys. But...since I did, I...wanna give you this." Karol said, presenting them with their invite. But all Tison did was huff and Clint turned away without a word. Karol sighed until he saw the invite in his hand taken by Nan.

"Th...Thanks. I'll make sure to look at it." Nan said. Karol watched as Nan hurried back to the others, blushing from cheek to cheek.

"Nan..." Karol muttered.

**_~ Tales of Vesperia ~_**

At Aspio, Rita was dropped off earlier to invite the people of the recovering Aspio to Yuri and Estelle's wedding, promising to bring up the problems befacing the reconstruction of their city. Soon after, she rejoined her friends and went to Torim Harbor, passing word along to Patty.

"Wh...What? Yuri and Estelle? No way!" Patty cried. Rita nodded, telling Patty all the details about the wedding and how she could possibly help. Patty giggled, saying she'd help them with anything she could. She joined Rita in finding Kaufman, also within Torim Harbor at their guild headquarters, and pass an invite to her.

"Hmm. So ol' Yuri decided to settle down with that lovely princess eh? Hmm. Should be for quite a show. Tell Yuri that I wouldn't miss this for the world and congrats." Kaufman said with a smile. Rita nodded and thanked her for the time. They returned to the others and made one more stop at Nor Harbor, presenting an invite to Teagle and his family.

"Oh my. I never expected something like this. Are you sure it's all right for us to come?" Teagle asked. Judith smiled.

"Of course. You helped us out before and you want to repay us for all the help we gave to you. So consider this your way of repaying...by being there for our friends' wedding." Judith said. Teagle's family smiled, telling Judith that they would come.

"Thanks. If you can excuse us now, we've got just ONE more invite to drop off. Thanks for your time." Raven said, leaving alongside Judith. Their last visit was to Halure, allowing Raven to slip in and give an invite to the mayor of the town.

"A wedding? Well, you can be sure that I'll come. If it is for those young folk that helped repair our barrier in the past, I would be honored." he said. Eventually, all the invites were given out and everyone gathered together again at Zaphias, meeting together in the royal quarter.

"So...are the invites handed out?" Yuri asked.

"Yep. But man...I gotta tell ya. It was one heck of a world trip to get them to everyone. You had the EASY part of sending your pooch to give invites to everyone in the lower quarter." Raven said, sitting down on the ground. Rita huffed.

"Once an old geezer, ALWAYS an old geezer." Rita said. Patty lightly giggled as Raven frowned.

"And once a stubborn little lady, ALWAYS a stubborn gal. Right back at ya blastia girl! Ha ha ha!" Raven laughed before Rita struck him. Karol watched with a nervous chuckle at the bruise on Raven's face.

"Well, everything else is being taken care of by Ioder and Flynn. So...that just leaves what YOU guys can do for the wedding." Yuri said. His friends looked on. The first noted was Rita, facing Estelle.

"Rita? I would like you to be my maid of honor." Estelle said. Rita gasped, blushing bright red.

"Wh...What? M...M...M..Me?" Rita squeaked. Estelle giggled, saying she wanted to pick Rita as her first choice. Rita gulped, shaking down to her shoes as she accepted Estelle's invite.

"Huh? Hey...Rita? You ok...DOW!" Karol cried, punched in the face by the jumpy Rita. Yuri chuckled.

"Hey. Don't bruise the boss there Rita. He's gotta have a working nose if he's going to be the ring bearer." Yuri said. Karol gasped, facing Yuri.

"Huh? Me? The ring bearer?" Karol asked. Yuri nodded, saying he already asked Flynn to be his best man and learning from Judith that the Krityan Elder would be the marriage officiant.

"So...what does that mean for ol' Raven? Come on Yuri. We're pals, right?" Raven asked. Yuri smirked, asking Raven to be one of his groomsmen alongside Flynn and Repede. Raven smirked.

"Ho ho! Not a bad offer Yuri! I accept." Raven smirked. Estelle turned to Patty, asking her how the idea of her being a flower girl. Patty gasped.

"Wow! Really Estelle? Okay then!" Patty cheered. Judith chuckled, already learning earlier that Estelle asked her to be apart of her bridesmaid.

"Okay then. I think that's everyone. So let's all make sure to be ready by the end of this week. That's when the wedding will take place. Don't be late." Yuri said. His friends all smirked and gave a thumbs up, promising to be there, including a still skiddish Rita.

**__****__****__****____********__****__****__****__****_TO BE CONTINUED..._**


	4. Ch 4: Will You Marry Me : Part 1

**__****__****_Tales of Vesperia: Royal Engagement_**

**__****__****__****_Chapter 4: Will You Marry Me? - Part 1_**

The invites were sent, the decorations were being put into place and the best cooks around Zaphias were brought together to prepare the food. Within a week's worth of time, it was time for the big day in question. It was the day of Yuri and Estelle's marriage. The guests from all over Terca Lumireis were arriving to see this big event.

"Wow. I can't wait mommy!" a boy cried. His mother nodded.

"Princess Estellise...I feel so happy. I'll bet this is the day she's waited for her whole life...marrying the love of her life." the boy's mother thought, sighing afterwards. At Zaphias Castle, in the large beautiful pearl white chapel, the decorations had been finished. Flags symbolizing Dahngrest and Zaphias hung along the walls. Behind the podium up front was a table with many flower vases and candles lined up side by side. Up above was a beautiful stain glass window, shimmering in colorful lights as the sun's rays passed through the glass. Rita was checking on things going on.

"All right. Good. Good. Hey! Where's the ice sculpture? I was told you kooks were gonna have one done by today! Where is it?" Rita exclaimed. She was wearing a beautiful white and red gown stretching down to her ankles with frill trims on the end. She heard Karol sighing nearby.

"Rita? Didn't Estelle ask that you not try and go OVERBOARD today? It's not like this is such a great big deal." Karol said. Rita groaned.

"Whaddya mean it's not a big deal? It is SO! This is Estelle's wedding! And I'm gonna make sure it's PERFECT!" Rita shouted. Raven groaned.

"What Karol meant was that this ain't YOUR wedding missy. You're bossing everybody around like you were arranging your own wedding. This is for the princess, right? So just cool down." Raven said. Rita groaned, wishing that Raven didn't point out everything to her. As Rita walked off, Raven glanced at Karol, spying him in his royal outfit for the wedding. He wore a small light blue tuxedo with a white undershirt, matching color pants and a red bowtie around his neck. He carried a small pillow under his right arm.

"Looking good Karol. Those duds really make ya look the part of ring bearer." Raven said. Karol chuckled, glancing at Raven who didn't even bother changing clothes.

"Well...why haven't YOU changed Raven?" Karol asked "You'll stick out like a sore thumb." Raven smirked, crossing his arms.

"Heh. You forget that as one of Yuri's best men, I can dress however I want. Besides, if I know the folks back at Dahngrest, it's not like they're gonna dress all fancy just because its a wedding they're going to." Raven said. Karol sighed.

**_~ Tales of Vesperia ~  
_**

Later on that day, as the guests for the wedding began arriving, Yuri was seen entering the chapel with Flynn close at his side. Flynn wore a black tuxedo with a black bowtie around his neck as Yuri wore a white suit with a black bowtie around his neck. But as he arrived, he was struggling with the collar on his neck.

"Damn this stupid collar. I feel like I'm being choked." Yuri groaned, pulling at it with his finger. Flynn glanced on at him.

"Yuri...come on. Do you know how long it took me to get you to put that on? Don't complain. Once the wedding is over, you can take it off. I promise." Flynn said. Yuri groaned, glaring at his friend.

"I can understand ME getting all dressed up. But did ya HAVE to go and embarrass Repede?" Yuri asked. The boys looked back, seeing Repede dressed in fancy clothes as well. He wore a small white suit with red trimmings around his collar and a gold collar around his neck. One look at his clothes made the dog whine.

"What? I think Repede looks nice. Estelle thought so too." Flynn said. Yuri sighed, turning back to his pooch.

"Well Repede, let's just get this over with. Then I'll help ya get the monkey suit off. Deal?" Yuri asked. Repede gave a loud bark. As Repede strolled over, Yuri bent down to the dog's eye level.

"And Repede? If I can ask for one small favor, let Estelle pet ya if she feels like it later. This is a special occasion. All right?" Yuri whispered into Repede's ear. Repede quietly glanced at his master, giving a certain glare that he would. Yuri smirked, thanking Repede with a pat on the head. He glanced over at Karol, not spotting Rita at all.

"Hey. Where's Rita?" Yuri asked.

"Huh? Oh. She went to check on Estelle. She'll be coming back as soon as its Estelle's time I guess." Karol said. Just then, the guests started to arrive, entering the chapel.

"Yuri...I guess it'll be time soon. The guests are already starting to arrive." Karol said. Yuri and Flynn watched as people from Zaphias were the first to begin arriving, being shown to their seats by Judith, wearing a beautiful gold dress and Krityan hair pins in her hair.

"There you are. Thanks for coming." Judith said. Among the people entering included Hanks and Yuri's friends from the lower quarter, Sodia, Witcher and the twins Hisca and Chastel Aiheap. Sodia paused to glance at Yuri, quickly noticed by Flynn.

"Sodia...now is not the time to think about arresting Yuri. So please...try and put your past aggresions towards Yuri out of your mind." Flynn said. Sodia groaned, agreeing to Flynn's plea. To avoid fights breaking out, all guests were asked to check in their weapons at the castle doors, stored in a safe place nearby. Judith joined Yuri at his side in greeting the guests as they arrived.

"Well, that should be the guests from Zaphias, right?" Yuri asked. Judith nodded, looking at a sheet of paper in her hand. Later on, the next guests to arrive were the people and mayor of Halure, the mages of Aspio, Teagle's family and some of the few guild members from Dahngrest.

"Looks like folk from Dahngrest are starting to show." Raven said, just noticing Harry arrive. Raven happened to glance at Karol, looking on amongst the guests as if he was looking for something.

"Hmm? What's up Karol?" Yuri asked. Karol sighed.

"Oh. It's nothing. I know I gave an invite to Nan at Nordopolica, but I guess she, Tison nor Clint are gonna bother to show. I should've known." Karol said. But just then, Yuri noticed a young girl walking in and stopping in front of Karol.

"Ex...Excuse me. This is...where the wedding will take place, right?" a girl's voice asked. Karol looked on and gasped, seeing Nan standing before him. Surprisingly, she was dressed in a small white dress with a pendant shaped like her boomerang blade around her neck. Karol started to blush as he quickly tried to snap out of it.

"N...Nan! I didn't think you'd come! Are the boss or Tison here?" Karol asked. Nan shook her head, saying Tison refused to come and Clint didn't even wanna be bothered. She was the only person from the Hunting Blades to arrive.

"Well, it's good to see you anyway. Thanks for coming." Karol said. Nan nodded.

"Th...Thanks. I hope I look okay." Nan said. Karol blushed, talking on with Nan as Yuri watched more guests arrive. He soon saw Kaufman arrive.

"Heh. We meet again Mr. Yuri Lowell. How's our groom to be?" Kaufman asked. Yuri smirked, saying he was doing just fine. Kaufman glanced over at Yuri's outfit.

"I never thought I would see the day that YOU, of all people, would wear a monkey suit like that." Kaufman said. Yuri huffed, looking on with a smug look on his face as he pointed to Flynn.

"Yeah? Well thank this guy for making me wear it." Yuri said. Flynn groaned, turning away as Kaufman walked on. Suddenly, after Kaufman, Yuri saw someone waving their invite tauntingly in his face.

"Excuse us. But we received an invite for this? I hope you'll let us come." a girl's voice said. Yuri looked down and saw Gauche and Droite.

"Huh? Wait. Why are YOU here?" Yuri asked. Gauche huffed, saying the "old man" invited them. Raven smirked, personally showing the girls to their seats. Yuri sighed, crossing his arms.

"Well, we sure have a colorful cast of guests, don't we?" Yuri asked. Flynn nodded, never expecting some of the guests. But the next would be the biggest surprise of all. Yuri and the others gasped as, entering in a red and gold suit, was Duke Pantarei.

"D...Duke? Wh...When did...Why are you here?" Yuri asked.

"Is this not the wedding of Yuri Lowell and Estellise? Hmph. Perhaps I am at the wrong location." Duke said in a cold tone. Yuri quickly shook his head.

"No...no. You're in the right spot. But...why did you come? I thought you wanted nothing to do with humanity." Yuri said. Duke remained silent, walking a few steps forward before stopping and glancing at Yuri.

"I was...a bit surprised to see that humans had truly willingly given up the gift of blastia to save this world from the Adephagos. Perhaps...I merely wanted to see what humans reactions were...to this sort of event." Duke said. He continued on to his seat, surprising Judith as he passed her. Yuri and Flynn quietly glanced at one another.

**_~ Tales of Vesperia ~_**

Within half an hour, all of the guests arrived and were seated in the chapel, with the Krityans arriving last. Yuri stood up front with Karol, Raven, Flynn and Repede as the Elder waited as well. Chatter began between each side as they were possibly talking about each side. Ioder watched nearby, reserved a special seat up front.

"I sure hope this works. The people of Dahngrest and Zaphias might wanna tear each other's heads off if things go wrong." Karol muttered. Yuri nodded, having caught a glance at them himself. Suddenly, they heard organ music being played, playing "Here Comes the Bride". Yuri and everyone looked down the aisle, seeing Estelle gracefully entering the chapel. Yuri gasped.

"Estelle..." Yuri muttered.

"Lady Estellise..." Flynn muttered. Estelle was dressed in a beautiful light pink wedding gown with a tiara on her head and a veil around the back of her head. She wore light pink gloves around her hands, carrying a boquet of flowers in her hands. Behind her, carrying her tram, was Rita as Patty led the way by scattering flower petals down the aisle.

"Oh my. Look at Lady Estellise." a royal muttered.

"Wow. So that's the princess?" a guildmate asked. Estelle remained silent as she continued on, stopping when she knew she was by Yuri's side. Rita then hurried to Judith's side on the other side of the stand. Estelle and Yuri looked on at each other.

"Yuri...I'm so excited. I...I feel speechless." Estelle whispered. Yuri smirked.

"Well, just remember your lines for what's ahead. You can't exactly be the one silent as a mouse here." Yuri whispered. Estelle quietly looked at Repede, giggling softly at his outfit. Nearby, LeBlanc and his men stood by, observing the wedding. As all fell silent, the Krityan elder cleared his throat.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to bind together these two lovers in holy matrimony." the elder announced. Among the guests, Hanks watched with a smirk at Yuri standing by Estelle's side.

"Yuri...we're so proud of you. If only your parents could see you now..." Hanks thought. As the elder continued with his speech, Karol stood patiently nearby with the wedding rings on the pillow in his hands. He was constantly noticing Nan quietly looking at him, who would quickly turn away at the first sign of being noticed.

"I...I can't help but think...Karol looks kind of cute like that." Nan thought, blushing from cheek to cheek. Judith was seen having a telepathic chat with Ba'ul, waiting outside the castle.

"Yes Ba'ul. It's going great so far. I'll tell you all about it when its over. Be patient." Judith whispered. Soon, it was time for the rings. Karol approached Yuri and Estelle, presenting the rings as Yuri took them and slipped one on Estelle's finger. Estelle almost started to cry.

"Whoa. Not yet Estelle. Save the water works until AFTER the "I Do" part." Yuri whispered. Estelle quickly wiped the tears from her eyes as they turned back to the elder.

"Do you, Yuri Lowell, take Princess Estellise to be your lawfully wedded wife for as long as you both shall live?" the elder asked. Yuri smirked, turning to Estelle and holding her hands.

"I do." Yuri said, making Estelle lightly gasp.

"And do you, Princess Estellise, take Yuri to be your lawfully wedded husband for as long as you both shall live?" the elder asked. Estelle started to sniffle, beginning to cry again.

"I...I do." Estelle muttered. Yuri smirked, as did Flynn. Rita couldn't help but shed a tear also. Everyone looked on quietly, amazed to see a man from the guilds and the princess of Zaphias about to be binded in matrimony. Some even began believing that this was a true sign that Zaphias wanted peace with Dahngrest. Duke quietly looked on amongst the crowd.

"Before I pronounce thee, are there any among you who oppose to these two being wed? Then speak now or forever hold your peace." the elder asked. All was silent as no one said a word. Yuri smirked.

"Oh. Thanks everyone. Your "speechless silence" makes it all convincing." Yuri teased. Some people lightly chuckled at Yuri's joke. Yuri smirked, saying he was kidding, before turning with Estelle back to the elder. But just as he was about to prounce them married, they heard a knight posted at the chapel doors cry in agony. Some of the guests gasped.

"Wh...What the?" Flynn gasped. Everyone quickly turned back to watch as the doors to the chapel were blasted clear off their hinges in a giant explosion. The guests screamed as Yuri ducked down with Estelle, avoiding the doors as they crashed behind the podium.

"G..Gah! Who...Who DARES disturb this wedding? Show yourself!" Rita screamed. As the smoke began to clear from the doorway, a shadow was seen slowly walking up the aisle. And appearing from the large cloud of smoke was someone that made Yuri gasp. It was Zagi, staggering in with two mechanical arms on his body. His hair was a mess from their last battle, also having a large tear in his suit.

"Oh no...not him." Yuri muttered. Zagi laughed insanely, eyeing Yuri with a twisted gaze in his eyes.

"Yuri Lowell! At last...after all this time searching...I finally FOUND you!" Zagi yelled. He laughed as Yuri saw both his daggers in his hands. But soon after, Zagi looked behind him.

"HEY! He's in here!" Zagi cried. As he turned his gaze back to Yuri, more surprising faces appeared behind him. Next behind Zagi was Magistrate Ragou, wearing the same black robes in which he perished in.

"There you are! You're the ruffian that tried to KILL me!" Ragou exclaimed. The guests gasped, turning to Yuri, who looked on in shock. But the shock only continued as next to appear was Cumore. He was dressed in his knightly armor.

"Yuri Lowell...so here you are you beast. This time...This time you will PAY for what you did to me!" Cumore cried, drawing his sword. But it would not stop as Barbos suddenly appeared next.

"Heh heh heh. Well, well...look who's still alive. Thought for SURE you would've been sent to the gates of hell alongside us punk." Barbos said. He was dressed in his garments from after his battle at Ghasfarost, marked with multiple tears and wears across his suit. He carried a large menacing version of his blastia enfused blade in his left hand. But then, as if it would not get worse, Raven gasped as he saw Yeager soon arriving as well.

"N...No! What's going on here?" Raven asked. Yeager snickered, clapping his hands. He carried his large weapon on his back as he was seen in the same garments as to their fight at Zaude.

"Bravo everyone. Bravo. How wunderbar it is to see you all again, ja? Hope you don't mind us...ehh...crashing the party." Yeager said. Gauche and Droite gasped.

"Y...Yeager?" the girls asked. Yuri groaned.

"How...How are you all HERE? How could you all be alive? You all perished during the events with the Adephagos!" Yuri exclaimed. Suddenly, there was a menacing laughter, almost quickly paralyzing Estelle with fear. Zagi and the others stepped aside to let in Commandant Alexei, chuckling as he strolled into the chapel. He wore a scruffed suit of armor, similar to the one he died in atop Zaude. With Alexei present, they were all noticed to be wearing strange grey collars around their necks and stared on with cold dead stares in their eyes.

"N...No! Co...Commandant Alexei! That's impossible! You should be dead!" Flynn exclaimed. Alexei laughed.

"You would like to believe that, wouldn't you? No. We are all very much indeed ALIVE. And since we're here...we'd thought we would drop in and spoil your little festivities." Alexei said with a sneer. Duke quietly looked on at them.

"This cannot be. These beings...I sense death within their breathing words. But...how?" Duke thought. Alexei suddenly drew a False Dein Nomos from behind his cape, raising it in the air.

"Oh no. This can't be good!" Yuri thought. Alexei laughed.

"Now...Yuri Lowell, Princess Estellise...and all those who DARE to associate themselves with you...it is time for your judgment according to the vengeful souls of hell. Your lives of peace and prosperity end here. It is time...to DIE!" Alexei cried. Zagi laughed as he and the others came charging towards Yuri and the others. The other guests began screaming in fear and hurried out of the way as the villains attacked.

**__****__****__****____********__****__****__****__****_TO BE CONTINUED..._**


	5. Ch 5: Will You Marry Me : Part 2

**__****__****__****_Tales of Vesperia: Royal Engagement_**

**__****__****__****__****_Chapter 5: Will You Marry Me? - Part 2_**

The once peaceful and love filled chapel was now turned into a battlefield as the villains of Yuri's past returned to ambush everyone in sight. Yuri groaned, dodging and ducking Zagi's attacks.

"Oh man! This can't be happening! It's gotta be a dream!" Yuri thought. Zagi laughed as he lunged at Yuri again. But Yuri quickly flipped over and sprung back at Zagi, kicking him in the jaw. Suddenly, Barbos clutched a giant wooden cabinet over his head. He sneered, eyeing the crowd.

"Everyone remain calm! Follow the knights out to safety! You must evacuate before you get caught in the crossfire!" Flynn cried. Barbos laughed.

"Not fast enough KID!" Barbos yelled. He chucked the cabinet towards Flynn and Yuri at the front. But Judith quickly intervened and smashed the cabinet with a powerful kick. Inside were the weapons of everyone checked into the wedding, scattering across the room.

"Our stuff!" Raven cried.

"Hurry!" Karol exclaimed. Nan quickly dived for her boomerang blade and grabbed it, springing at Barbos. Yuri grabbed his blade and shielded himself just as Zagi attacked again.

"What's going on here? Where are you slimeballs coming from? You should all be dead!" Yuri exclaimed. Zagi laughed.

"We won't die Yuri. Not until YOU do! And this time...we will FINALLY get our revenge for you sending us to the gates of hell!" Zagi laughed. Yuri groaned and knocked Zagi's attack combo out of sync before kicking him away. But Alexei lunged over Zagi and struck at Yuri, their swords quickly meeting.

"Alexei! I knew everyone else had to be dead...but YOU I'm surprised to see. Guess not even a giant blastia falling on you could kill a sick person like you!" Yuri sneered between his teeth. Alexei chuckled.

"Yes. All you ever truly did was slow me down Yuri. But now...on the day of your "glorious" wedding with the princess...not only will everyone see you die...but they'll learn the true criminal and murderous instincts you're hiding!" Alexei cried. Yuri gasped.

"What?" Yuri thought. Meanwhile, Yeager laughed as he was firing a barrage of attacks around the entire room. Patty was trying to counter with shots from her pistols, missing Yeager at every possible moment.

"Oh...too bad little girl. Not fast enough, ja?" Yeager asked. But suddenly, he saw Gauche and Droite lung at him. Their weapons met as Yeager shielded himself from their attack.

"Yeager! What's the meaning of this? Why are you attacking them? Including US?" Gauche asked.

"Y...Yeah Yeager! This isn't like you at all! In fact...you...you should be dead." Droite asked. Yeager groaned, struggling to shield himself. But then, the girls noticed a strange look in Yeager's eyes.

"P...Please girls. H...Hurry and...set me...free from my shackles." Yeager muttered. Gauche and Droite gasped, seeing the collar around Yeager's neck. Nearby, Karol came charging for Barbos as he struck Nan down and quickly grabbed her neck.

"Let her GO!" Karol cried. But suddenly, Karol was rammed into by Cumore with his shield, skidding through the seatings.

"Outta my way!" Karol yelled. He quickly pushed away and slammed his hammer straight down on Cumore's foot, making him scream in pain.

"DAGH! D'oh! My foot! My foot!" Cumore exclaimed. During all the commotion, Ragou was not seen drawing a dagger and coming for Estelle. Yuri had seen, still struggling with Alexei.

"No! Estelle! Behind you!" Yuri exclaimed. Estelle turned and gasped, seeing Ragou about to attack.

"Goodbye you worthless princess!" Ragou cried. But from out of nowhere, a large fireball blasted Ragou and slammed him into the wall. Estelle looked to see an angry Rita.

"No one DARES draw a sword against her life! This I SWEAR!" Rita exclaimed. She quickly begun another spell and fired a barrage of fireballs at Ragou.

"R...Rita!" Estelle cried.

**_~ Tales of Vesperia ~_**

Nan escaped Barbos' grip and launched her boomerang at him, tearing his clothes as he tried to dodge. Barbos growled.

"Hmph! I knew the Hunting Blades were annoying! They can never compare to the might of the Blood Alliance! Take THIS!" Barbos yelled. He came on the charge and was about to ram into Nan. But during the charge, he was tackled over by an attacking Repede, slammed to the floor.

"What the...? DAH!" Barbos yelled, soon feeling the dog bite down on his leg. Zagi was on the attack again, charging through the crowds towards Yuri as he pushed Alexei aside. Yuri saw him and gasped.

"Now I got you!" Zagi exclaimed. Yuri jumped away, but Zagi's blade still struck a part of his arm, tearing the sleeve on his suit. Zagi laughed a she turned to Yuri.

"How does it feel Yuri? I finally managed to cut you. So...since you did me the favor of making me lose my arms...I think it's time YOU felt what its like too!" Zagi laughed. Yuri groaned, clutching his arm in pain. Zagi drew both blades and prepared to attack. But he felt a tap on his shoulder and looked back, struck blindly in the face by LeBlanc slamming his shield in Zagi's face.

"Tell me how THAT felt!" LeBlanc cried "No one takes the life of the princess' fiance without MY approval!" Yuri looked at LeBlanc, quickly giving a smirk. He looked and saw Adecor and Boccos struggling to restrain Alexei. Raven fired waves of arrows at Yeager and Cumore.

"All right you two. I think its about time ya went back to whatever filthy hole ya crawled out of. Your time in our world is over." Raven said. Yeager chuckled.

"How funny coming from someone whose heart isn't real, ja? Why not join us old man?" Yeager asked, drawing his gun. Raven smirked.

"One thing about that. See, this old man's got a reason to live...to see this wedding through to the end and make sure my pals have a future to look forward to." Raven said. He then super charged an arrow, firing it towards them. But they both ducked away as the arrow was now zooming towards Ragou. He had Gauche and Droite in a corner, drawing a knife.

"You can't touch us old man." Gauche said.

"Yeah! Don't think you've got us trapped!" Droite exclaimed. Ragou chuckled and looked ready to strike. But suddenly, Raven's super charged arrow struck at an empty hole in the collar around Ragou's neck. He gasped as he felt the arrow smash clean through the collar, splitting it in two. The girls suddenly saw Ragou's body beginning to age at incredible rates.

"No! NO!" Ragou exclaimed. His skin turned to gray and he evaporated into dust, leaving his clothes behind on the ground. Rita saw the events happening before her eyes and gasped.

"Wait. The...The aer the old man used in that attack. It smashed that strange collar on Ragou's neck and...caused him to disintegrate?" Rita asked. She suddenly saw Cumore charging. But acting quickly, Rita elbowed Cumore and tripped him with a swift swing of her leg, head locking him in the process. Cumore groaned.

"L...Let go of me!" Cumore exclaimed. Rita quickly observed the same hole shape mark on the back of Cumore's collar. She could see faint traces of aer leaking from his collar.

"These collars...they're running on aer! So...when Raven's arte struck Ragou in the same opening, it was like the Sorceror's Ring effect on other aer infused devices. So that means...these collars are controlling everyone like they're re-animated puppets!" Rita thought. She quickly looked towards the roof, seeing someone in a Leviathan's Claw cloak in the rafters above the chapel with his hands exposed. He gasped when Rita spotted him.

"Hey! You! You're the puppeteer of these corpses, aren't you?" Rita cried.

**_~ Tales of Vesperia ~_**

Estelle aided Yuri in attacking Zagi and Alexei, tag teaming against him in a barrage of attacks. Yuri quickly broke the two apart with an attack, leaving Zagi to charge for him and Alexei coming at Estelle.

"I'm...I'm not afraid of you Alexei! I am not your tool!" Estelle cried. Alexei yelled as he lunged for her. But suddenly, Rita shoved Cumore aside and quickly chanted a spell, catching Alexei within a Violent Pain.

"Geh!" Alexei gasped.

"Estelle! Yuri! Look out!" Rita cried. The two jumped away as the pounding from Rita's spell crashed down on Alexei, slamming him face down to the floor and smashing the collar on his neck. He screamed as his body turned to dust in the same manner, leaving Yuri and Estelle in shock.

"Everyone! These AREN'T the real deal! There's somebody up in the roof controlling everything! The collars these guys are wearing run on aer! They're just aer fueled puppets! And HE'S the puppeteer!" Rita exclaimed. The man in the roof gasped, quickly spotted by everyone.

"Dagh! No!" the man gasped. Judith quickly drew her spear and chucked it up towards him. He gasped and veered to avoid it, but Judith's spear punctured his robe and tore it clean off. The commotion caused him to come falling down from the rafters and crash into the seats nearby. In the commotion, Zagi lunged for Estelle with his blades drawn back.

"I'm gonna KILL you! I gotta kill something!" Zagi cried. But as Estelle tried to avoid it, she found herself knocked away by Repede, pushed to the floor as Zagi tripped over Repede and down to Yuri's feet. Yuri groaned as he drew his blade. Zagi looked up at Yuri.

"Hmph. You're not even real. You're just Zagi's corpse...playing the role of someone else's puppet. The Zagi I knew would never let himself be someone else's pawn." Yuri said. He aimed at Zagi's collar and slammed down on it with all his might, shattering it to pieces. Zagi gasped as he started to gasp for air, clutching his throat.

"Damn it Yuri. I...I wanted so badly to kill you. B...But...I'll get my chance...when I see you in hell." Zagi gasped with his last breath, evaporating to dust. Outside the chapel, Duke was standing with all the others as he watched the fighting going on inside. Without a word, he slowly stepped towards the doorway and grasped Dein Nomos in his hands, having hidden it earlier.

"So...there are still those who would seek to disturb the peace of this world. This has gone on long enough." Duke muttered. Dein Nomos began to glow as the same aura surrounded him and was casted through the chapel, cancelling the effects of the villain's collars and deactivating them. Those still wearing them started to suffocate.

"F...Finally. I can...rest...in peace." Yeager gasped. He lightly glanced at Gauche and Droite.

"G...Girls...don't forget...uncle Yeager...j...ja?" Yeager muttered, turning to dust before their eyes. Gauche and Droite shed tears from their eyes at the sight of Yeager's corpse reduced to dust.

"Yeager...rest in peace." they muttered.

**_~ Tales of Vesperia ~_**

With the calamity caused by the mysterious intruder over, the knights quickly arrested him and had him cuffed with his hands behind his back. Everyone stood together outside the castle as the criminal was restrained before Yuri and the others. Rita held one of the strange gloves he wore, showing miniature holes in the tips.

"Amazing. These gloves...have an aer network running through them. He could send invisible threads, completely made of aer, to the collars of the puppets he had below. This would be able to make him control them however he pleased." Rita muttered. Raven glanced on.

"So when the collars were destroyed..." he said. Rita nodded.

"They didn't have anywhere to go and the aer ran amok...eventually aging the controlled corpses until they turned to dust. I never thought I would see anyone use aer in such a way." Rita said. Yuri approached the captured culprit, looking on at his face. He wore red goggles over his eyes, wearing a suit similar to that of a member of Leviathan's Claw.

"So...what drove you to do this punk? Why try and stop this wedding?" Yuri asked. The man groaned.

"What did it? I blaim both the empire...and the guilds. I was a veteran, a survivor of the Great War...a war in which took my family from me. I didn't want to go...but those FOOLS on the council dragged me away from my family to fight. I never saw them again after I returned." he said. Karol and Nan looked on.

"But then...what do you have against the guilds?" Karol asked. The man sneered, glaring over at Karol.

"I turned my back to the empire and came to the guilds in Dahngrest. But they...they only laughed at me. I knew why I was dragged out to fight in that war. I have the ability...to manipulate aer to do my bidding...making it as thick and dense as I wanted. But I couldn't do much else...making me a laughing stock in Dahngrest. I chose to leave both paths...showing the world just what I could truly do." he said. Yuri's eyes narrowed as he grasped him by the collar.

"That still doesn't answer one thing. What the hell is your deal with attacking me and my friends with the corpses of those we knew? How did THEY play into your little plan?" Yuri asked.

"Because Yuri...before I had a chance to show the world...just what I could truly do...you stole my thunder. Turning the blastia to spirits...setting the world free from their influence. I did some research...and found all sorts of delicious secrets in which I could use...to get even with all of you." he said. Yuri groaned.

"I went around to every place you had been, digging up the corpses of your fallen enemies and...using my talents to manipulate aer...bended them to my will. I thought that...if I could show the world how much of a criminal you were...murdering Ragou and Cumore...then they'd hate you too...just like...they all did to me." he continued. Estelle gasped.

"Yuri..." Estelle muttered.

"Men? Take this man away. I will NOT have him slandering my friend's name in such a manner." Flynn said. The knights nodded and started dragging the strange man away. Yuri quietly watched as everyone soon turned eyes to him.

"It's true. I really did kill Cumore and Ragou. But those monsters deserved it. I only did what I thought was right. The empire could never truly punish them, only hold them back until they were free again." Yuri said. Flynn glanced at him.

"Yuri..." Flynn muttered. The crowd around them started to mutter in worry, shocked by everything that had happened. Estelle lightly approached Yuri and held his hand. But he quickly turned away and broke her grip.

"Sorry Estelle. But a criminal like me doesn't deserve to marry someone like you." Yuri muttered. The others looked on at Yuri.

"So...that's why you were hesitant at first. You didn't want her to have to walk the same path as you...tainted by the lives you took." Flynn said. Yuri nodded. But then, he felt someone lightly holding his hand. Yuri turned to see Estelle.

"Yuri...it's...it's all right. The truth is...the idea of our marriage being able to repair the bonds between Zaphias and Dahngrest...wasn't important to me." Estelle said. Yuri lightly gasped.

"What really made me decide to go through with this...was because I love you Yuri. From the bottom of my heart, I truly love you. You're not a criminal. You're kind, you're loyal to your friends and to the cause you believe in. You always were there for me..." Estelle said. She started to shed tears as she hugged Yuri. Rita and the others watched.

"If...If you're afraid of passing on...to the same place that people like Cumore, Barbos or even Zagi went...it's okay. I'll...I'll always be with you...protecting you from ever going to hell. You have a good heart Yuri...a heart that never belongs in hell to begin with." Estelle said. Yuri looked on quietly at Estelle.

"Estelle..." Yuri muttered. Nearby, Sodia started to sniffle, wiping a tear from her eye. She then saw Yuri putting his arms around Estelle and smiling.

"Heh. Thanks Estelle. I knew I could believe in you." Yuri said. Estelle sniffled, shedding a smile in Yuri's arms. Suddenly, Sodia step forward.

"If...If Yuri's secrets are exposed to everyone, then...I have something to say as well. Back on Zaude, when Yuri defeated Alexei as the Adephagos appeared...I...I acted out of line and tried to asassinate him." Sodia cried. Everyone, including Flynn, gasped.

"S...Sodia?" Flynn asked. Sodia turned to Flynn.

"Captain Flynn! I...I didn't want someone like Yuri to share the same stage as you. I could never have imagined you as friends. That's why...That's why...I tried to protect you from the crimes he commited!" Sodia exclaimed. Witcher gasped.

"Wait. THAT'S what happened?" Witcher asked. Sodia nodded, starting to cry. All she wanted to hear was Flynn scold her for her actions. But she felt Flynn pat her shoulder.

"Sodia...it's all right. I have my own fair share of secrets that I was forced to keep as well. You were very brave in admitting your wrongs. And now...it's my turn." Flynn said. Yuri and Estelle glanced at Flynn.

"Everyone? I'm afraid the empire has been keeping secrets from you. The actions I was awarded for, such as saving the capital when Alexei took over and for everything else that involved the likes of Brave Vesperia, I was given the credit for. In fact, the REAL hero who saved you all...was truly Yuri Lowell." Flynn said. Yuri sighed.

"Flynn..." he muttered. Flynn walked over to Yuri's side, looking on as Estelle was in Yuri's arms.

"Sorry pal. I just felt it was right...that everyone truly saw how more of a brave, heroic man you are...rather than the criminal that everyone thought you were." Flynn said. Yuri quietly glanced on at Flynn as everyone else watched as well. A gentle breeze blew as Yuri slipped his arm off Estelle and faced Flynn. Flynn watched to see Yuri hold his hand up before him. He looked to Yuri and saw him smirk.

"Always had to be the goody two shoes, didn't you?" Yuri asked. Flynn smiled.

"When it comes to making sure people know the truth? Hmph. Yeah. I guess so." Flynn said. The two boys high fived each other as the others smiled.

"Heh. You've got a good childhood friend Yuri. You're two peas in a pod...I'll tell ya what." Raven thought. In the middle of the crowd, Ioder stepped forward.

"Well everyone, I know that some crazy things have just happened and I'm sure that you are all unsure of the things that truly happened. But I hope you realized one thing...seeing how those from both the empire and the guilds worked together to protect the two lovers before you now." Ioder said, knowing he spoke of Yuri and friends' teamwork. Yuri smirked.

"So...how about it? What say we get this wedding back on track and see to it that they are wed?" Ioder asked. The crowd was silent, but soon after, they heard Teagle's son starting to clap his hands. Soon following was his family, then the people of Halure and Aspio. Before they knew it, everyone nearby was applauding for Yuri and Estelle. Flynn glanced at his friend.

"Yuri? Take good care of her highness. Okay?" Flynn asked. Yuri smirked.

"Sure. But you don't have to call her that anymore." Yuri said, turning his gaze to Estelle "You can call her...Ms. Estelle Lowell." Estelle gasped, but she smiled and started to shed a tear from her eye.

"Then...I can call you...Mr. Yuri Sidos Heurassein. Okay?" Estelle asked. Yur smirked.

"That's...kind of a mouthful, ain't it?" Yuri asked. Estelle lightly giggled, saying she was just kidding. Yuri's friends looked on with smiles on their faces as the two leaned in close, with their eyes slowly closing, and kissed. The crowds around them cheered loudly.

"Then...by the power within me...I pronounce you...husband and wife." the Kritan elder muttered.

**_~ The End ~_**


	6. The Wedding Album: Epilogue

**__****__****__****_Tales of Vesperia: Royal Engagement_**

_~ The Wedding Album: The Epilogue ~_

_In the first photo, we see Yuri and Estelle side by side, kissing outside the chapel inside Zaphias Castle. The next photo shows Yuri and Estelle cutting the wedding cake together. Estelle smiled as she looked up at Yuri, both holding the knife together as they cut the cake._

_As Estelle and Yuri handed out pieces of the cake, Raven is seen with a boquet of flowers for Estelle with Rita standing inbetween them. Estelle seems surprised at Raven's gift, but Rita is twitching with anger. Suddenly, she slams her piece of cake in Raven's face, telling him it was "his piece" as she asks for another. Raven groaned as Estelle lightly giggled at Rita's act._

_In the next photo, Gauche and Droite are sitting a table drinking together in memory of Yeager before Raven, still with bits of cake on his face joins them. The next photo shows Patty singing out loud together with the band. She is full of energy with a microphone in her hand, a happy look on her face and her pirate hat on her head. Everyone laughs and applaud at Patty's singing._

_The next photo shows Karol on one knee, presenting Nan with a rose as he looks up at her. Both of them are blushing as Nan is rather surprised, looking at Karol's gift. But nearby, Estelle is throwing her boquet in the air. Rita and Judith are among the other girls ready to catch it. But as she throws it in the air and it fumbles from Rita and Judith, it lands in Nan's hands, surprising Karol as Judith seems displeased._

_In the next photo, Duke stands alone by the wall of the chapel with Dein Nomos nearby. He sips from a glass as he notices Yuri giving him a smile, showing he was glad he came. But Duke merely looks away, making Yuri sigh._

_The next photo shows Raven enjoying a good time with Rita and Judith nearby. Rita is quietly reading before Raven, drunken by too much drinking, puts his arms around both girls. As Judith glances at Raven, Rita growls angrily and punches Raven in the face. He falls over along with his chair, pulling Rita down with him. The next photo has Rita sitting at another table, reading alone as she eats her piece of cake._

_The music from the party starts making the guests dance as the next photo is of Yuri and Estelle dancing together. Next behind them was Flynn offering Sodia a dance, making her blush from ear to ear. Witcher is sitting alone as the two are dancing. Karol is seen with Nan, still blushing from earlier. But as he looks away, he finds that Nan had went off to get more to drink inbetween the dance and left Karol now dancing with Rita. The two glare at each other in utter shock as Rita socks Karol to the ground out of embarrassment._

_In the next photo, Estelle is seen peacefully looking out a window, remembering her days in the castle before meeting Yuri. She then feels Yuri's hand on her shoulder, looking happily at him as they look out the window together. Estelle then sees Repede by her legs. Surprised to see him sitting there, Estelle got her greatest gift: Repede let her pet him. He smirked as she did, making Yuri and Estelle smile._

_The next photo shows Karol and Yuri holding a giant banner, showing the emblem of Brave Vesperia on it. It is later shown that due to Flynn's words of bringing Yuri's true heroic actions to light and the link Brave Vesperia has to both Zaphias and Dahngrest, all of Yuri's friends are invited to become alliances with the Castle Knights as a "special division" of their forces._

_The last picture shows Yuri, Estelle, Rita, Karol, Repede, Raven, Flynn, Judith, Patty, Nan, Gauche, Droite, LeBlanc and even Duke together outside Zaphias Castle.  
_


End file.
